Jordan Pickford became a giant among England's goalies and put Arsène Wenger in his place

I t was not the most beautiful hour of Arsène Wenger. But it will finally be Jordan Pickford. Wenger, the former manager of Arsenal, had suggested that the goalkeeper could be the weakest link in this English team, which sued Thibaut Courtois by asking him if he was big enough to not reach Adnan Januzaj's goal for Belgium last week.

But Pickford certainly stands up now after his extraordinary rescue to help win England's oh-so-vital shoot-out victory. It was a moment that will live with him forever, a moment – with the decisive kick of Eric Dier – that could well change the landscape and the mentality of how England is perceived in the world football. A time when England has grown to new heights.

"When we look at the teams that won the World Cup, we realize that there is always a great goalkeeper in goal," said Wenger. "We have no example of a team that won the World Cup without a big and big goalkeeper, Pickford may be one, but he lacks experience and could pay for it."

But England did not pay and they could just go against Wenger's rule after what was only Pickford's seventh cap. It was long and short. Everton's keeper had received the support of Gareth Southgate when asked when he was hesitant about his number 1, after giving Jack Butland's shirt to 24, and it was a beautiful confirmation of this.